After the Philippines introduced the US military into the South China Sea by increasing the number of open bases, how much did it pay as a "pawn"? You can see it by one thing. After the United States proposed for many years, and its Asia-Pacific allies Japan, South Korea, and Australia did not agree, the Philippines agreed to the US military to deploy medium-range missiles with a range of 1,700 kilometers on the country's island of Luzon. Although the U.S. medium-range missile force has included the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and China's southeast coast, at the same time, the Philippine island of Luzon will also be targeted by Chinese missiles around the clock, which may not be good news for the Marcos administration. Recently, the Chinese side is suspected of responding to this.
According to the Observer, on May 17, when asked whether "the PLA H-6K bomber took off from Fiery Cross Reef in recent days after the U.S. military delivered the intermediate-range missile system to the Philippines to participate in military exercises, whether it responded to this", Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said that the United States' deployment of land-based medium-range missiles in the Philippines has seriously damaged China's strategic security, and China has repeatedly expressed its solemn position of resolute opposition to this. The countries concerned are willing to be instruments of hegemony and pawns, and the deployment of strategic offensive weapons for other countries will only increase greater security risks for themselves. China will take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard its security interests.
Although the Ministry of Defense did not specifically answer this question in response, the meaning has been clearly expressed between the words, let's briefly interpret it.
First of all, the deployment of intermediate-range missiles by the United States in the Philippines has already threatened China's security.
The current status quo is that on the Taiwan Strait issue, the United States has not only armed Taiwan into a "hedgehog" through arms sales, but President Biden has repeatedly promised that "it will protect Taiwan's security." This also shows that if the "Taiwan independence" elements on the island are restless, there is a possibility that China and the United States will have a "showdown" over the Taiwan Strait. On the South China Sea issue, the United States has previously summoned its allies to constantly disgust China through the so-called "freedom of navigation", and now it has pushed the Philippines to the forefront, directly challenging China with high frequency, making the situation in the South China Sea even more tense.
Against this background, the United States has actually sent a bad signal by deploying intermediate-range missiles to the Philippines. This is because the US medium-range missile "Typhon" system not only has a range of 1,700 kilometers and is capable of launching "Tomahawk" cruise missiles, but it is also dual-purpose for nuclear and conventional purposes, and the threat is huge.
If we look at the map, it is clear that Luzon Island, located in the northern part of the Philippines, is within 400 kilometers of the entire Taiwan Strait; It is about 1,000 kilometers away from the entire Nansha Islands, including Ren'ai Jiao and Scarborough Shoal; It is about 700 kilometers away from the southeast coast of China, and the Zhongsha Islands, Hainan Island, the Pearl River Delta, and Xiamen are included in the firing range.
Against this backdrop, China, of course, has to react. Previously, South Korea's preparation for the deployment of THAAD had caused China-South Korea relations to fall into a trough, and now that the deployment of US military intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines has become a fact, China's countermeasures will also be tougher.
Secondly, what can we see from the response of the Ministry of Defense?
First, "harming China's strategic security" has been confirmed, because the US military's medium-range missile system is dual-nuclear and conventional, and its threat is far from being compared with conventional missiles. Second, the "relevant country" that China is warning about is, of course, the Philippines, which is equivalent to "directly naming names". Third, the Chinese side has made it clear that "it will only add greater risks to itself", and if you have to interpret it bluntly, I am afraid that it is "it is better to have nothing to do, and once something happens, China will let it disappear first", because it is too normal for the Philippines to be retaliated against as a "launcher" for the US military.
Again, "China will take strong measures to safeguard its own security", I am afraid it also covers the action of "H-6K taking off from Fiery Cross Reef", because after the H-6K is in the sky, the strike range can radiate the entire South China Sea, including the US military, the deployment site of the medium-range missile. According to some sources, not long after the deployment of the US military, the Chinese side has already patronized the surrounding area, and the Chinese side may have mastered the relevant data such as coordinates and geographical environment.
Finally, what is Fiery Cross Reef's position in the South China Sea?
Fiery Cross Reef is located in the westernmost part of the Spratly Islands, and is also the farthest from the Philippines compared to Ren'ai Reef and Scarborough Shoal. But this "farthest" is also relatively speaking, and it is 550 kilometers away from the mainland of the Philippines in a straight line, facing the island of Filipabang to the east. For bombers, this deployment site is of course the most suitable in the South China Sea, because the H-6K has a combat radius of up to 3,500 kilometers, and it is also equipped with hypersonic missiles.
According to the data, Fiery Cross Island is only one of the artificial islands in the South China Sea, which was completed in April 2015. At present, there are airports, hospitals and government buildings on the island, and the H-6K took off from Fiery Cross Island, which also shows that its airport has the ability to take off and land bombers.